The present invention relates to gaming apparatus and more particularly to gaming apparatus such as slot machines having proportional payout capabilities.
Slot machines generate greater than ten billion dollars per year in revenue for US casinos, with individual machines typically earning between fifty and one hundred and fifty dollars per day. Despite their popularity, however, slot machines offer players a somewhat limited selection of strategies in comparison to other casino games.
More specifically, table game players, such as blackjack players, have the opportunity to xe2x80x98pressxe2x80x99 or increase their bets when they feel lucky, and to reduce their bets when they feel unlucky. No comparable option is readily available to the slot player.
While a slot player may reduce a bet by reducing the number of coins played, this option often results in his being excluded from the opportunity to win the top jackpot. In order to significantly increase his bet, a player typically would have to move to a higher denomination machine, a very undesirable option requiring him to leave his lucky, or xe2x80x98hotxe2x80x99 machine. While a player may have the option to increase the number of coins bet, the range of bets on typical machines is very limitedxe2x80x94often from one to three coins.
Thus, it would be very desirable to provide a slot machine which offers to players the ability to press or increase their bets when they are winning. It would be further desirable to offer such a machine which enables players to limit their losses when they are losing. Such a machine could result in the increase of both the total play and the wagered amount of the players.
An object of the present invention is to provide a gaming apparatus such as a slot machine which provides payouts which are a proportion of the amount wagered.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a gaming method and apparatus having a proportional payout are provided, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory connected to the processor. The memory stores a series of outcomes, and at least one proportional payout multiplier corresponding to an outcome of the series of outcomes. The processor is operative to select from the series of outcomes a resulting outcome, select a resulting proportional payout multiplier corresponding to the resulting outcome, and determine a game result based on the resulting proportional payout multiplier.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a gaming method and apparatus having a proportional payout are provided, the apparatus comprising a processor and a memory connected to the processor. The memory stores a series of outcomes, and a series of proportional payout multipliers each corresponding to an outcome of the series of outcomes. The processor is operative to receive an initiation signal to initiate a game play, receive a wager signal indicating a wager amount for the game play, and receive a random number for the game play. The processor is further operative to select from the series of outcomes a resulting outcome, the resulting outcome based on the random number, to select from the series of proportional payout multipliers a resulting proportional payout multiplier corresponding to the resulting outcome, and apply the resulting proportional payout multiplier to calculate a resulting payout.